Papers by Erik G E O R G Bø-Granquist
A morphological and molecular study of Anaplasma phagocytophilum transmission events at the time ... more A morphological and molecular study of Anaplasma phagocytophilum transmission events at the time of Ixodes ricinus tick bite
Poultry Science, 2016
Lameness and impaired walking ability are major welfare issues that cause economic losses in rapi... more Lameness and impaired walking ability are major welfare issues that cause economic losses in rapidly growing meat-type broiler chickens. This study analyzed the prevalence of impaired walking and its associations with production data, abattoir registrations and postmortem tibia measurements in Norwegian broiler chickens. Gait score (GS) was used to assess walking ability in 59 different commercial broiler flocks (Ross 308) close to the slaughter day, 5900 broilers in total, in 3 different geographical regions. In each flock, 100 random broilers were gait scored and 10 random broilers were culled to harvest tibias. Abattoir registrations on flock level were collected after slaughter. A total of 24.6 % of the broilers had moderate to severe gait impairment. The broilers were sampled in two stages, first slaughterhouse/ region, and then owner/flock. The final models showed that impaired gait is associated with region (P < 0.001), first week mortality (P < 0.05), DOA (P < 0.05), height of tibias mid-shaft (P < 0.05) and calcium content in the tibia ash (P < 0.05). The prevalence of impaired gait indicates that this is a common problem in the broiler industry in Norway, although Norwegian production conditions differ from EU standards with regards to slaughter age and animal density. Impaired walking ability could not be predicted by the welfare indicators foot pad lesion score, total on-farm mortality and DOA. Further studies are needed to identify feasible animal-based welfare indicators that reliably predict walking ability in broiler chickens.
Animal, 2019
The aim of this study was to explore lameness and the associations between lameness and health/pr... more The aim of this study was to explore lameness and the associations between lameness and health/production measures of animal welfare in commercial broiler production, using the Welfare Quality® protocol for broilers. A total of 50 flocks were included in the sample and farm visits were conducted for lameness scoring at a mean age of 28.9 days. The percentage of animals (n=7500) in the six different gait score (GS) categories were GS0: 2.53%, GS1: 44.19%, GS2: 33.84%, GS3: 16.32%, GS4: 2.36% and GS5: 0.53%. Production and other welfare data were collected for each flock after slaughter. Higher gait scores were associated with increased hock burn score (P<0.02), increased footpad dermatitis score (P<0.01), reduced bird cleanliness score (P<0.01) and peat litter (P<0.01). Although not statistically significant, there was a tendency for increased flock gait score being associated with wet litter (P=0.07). In addition, condemnations at postmortem inspection were associated wi...
Rickettsiales, 2016
Sheep are grazers and thus come into direct and indirect contact with other ruminants and wildlif... more Sheep are grazers and thus come into direct and indirect contact with other ruminants and wildlife including insects and arachnids in their natural environment. In Europe, the lambing season coincides with the period in which ticks are reviving from dormancy in the spring. Thus, lambs may contract tick-borne diseases immediately after release on to pasture. In tropical and subtropical regions, sheep may be at risk of tick-borne infections all year around. Tick-borne rickettsiae, and especially A. phagocytophilum is found in sheep all across Europe, and elsewhere. However, clinical disease has never been observed in sheep outside Europe. The genetic variants of the bacterium show different degrees of virulence and effective vaccines are yet to be developed against A. phagocytophilum.
Journal of Applied Microbiology
Softic_BMC_questionnaire; The questionnaire used in this study. (DOC 102 kb)
Softic_BMC_raw_dataset; The raw dataset used in this study. (XLSX 147 kb)
Background: Anaplasma phagocytophilum is the causative agent of human granulocytic anaplasmosis (... more Background: Anaplasma phagocytophilum is the causative agent of human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA) in humans and tick-borne fever (TBF) in ruminants. The bacterium invades and replicates in phagocytes, especially in polymorphonuclear granulocytes. Methods: In the present study, skin biopsies and ticks (Ixodes ricinus) were collected from tick feeding lesions on 38 grazing lambs between two and three weeks after access to pastures. The histopathological changes associated with tick bites and A. phagocytophilum infection, were described. In addition the skin biopsies were examined by immunohistochemistry. Furthermore, samples from blood, skin biopsies and ticks were examined by serology, PCR amplification of msp2 (p44), genotyping of rrs (16S rRNA) variants, and compared with the results obtained from histological and immunohistochemical investigations. Results: Tick bites were associated with chronic and hyperplastic inflammatory skin lesions in this study. A. phagocytophilum pres...
Veterinary immunology and immunopathology, 2020
In Norway, the tick-transmitted bacterium Anaplasma phagocytophilum is estimated to cause tick-bo... more In Norway, the tick-transmitted bacterium Anaplasma phagocytophilum is estimated to cause tick-borne fever (TBF) in 300 000 lambs on pastures each year, resulting in economic and animal welfare consequences. Today, prophylactic measures mainly involve the use of acaricides, but a vaccine has been requested by farmers and veterinarians for decades. Several attempts have been made to produce a vaccine against A. phagocytophilum including antigenic surface proteins, inactivated whole cell vaccines and challenge followed by treatment. In the current study, a virulent wild type strain of A. phagocytophilum named Ap.Norvar1 (16S rRNA sequence partial identical to sequence in GenBank acc.no M73220) was subject to genetic transformation with a Himar1-transposon, which resulted in three bacterial mutants, capable of propagation in a tick cell line (ISE6). In order to test the immunogenicity and pathogenicity of the live, mutated bacteria, these were clinically tested in an inoculation- and c...
Aims: This study explores how different dairy farm operating systems influence the occurrence of ... more Aims: This study explores how different dairy farm operating systems influence the occurrence of zoonotic bacteria in raw milk. Methods and Results: Samples from bulk tank milk, milk filters, feces, feed, teats and teat milk were collected from eleven farms with loose housing and seven with tie-stall housing every second month over a period of 11 months and analyzed for the presence of Campylobacter spp., L. monocytogenes and STEC. Campylobacter spp., L. monocytogenes and STEC were abundant in samples from the farm environment and were also detected in 4%, 13% and 7% of the milk filters, respectively, and in 3%, 0% and 1% of bulk tank milk samples. Four STEC isolates carried the eae gene, which is linked to the capacity to cause more severe human disease. Conclusion: The results indicate a higher prevalence of L. monocytogenes and Campylobacter spp. in samples collected from loose housed herds compared to tie-stalled herds suggesting that the operating system can influence the food ...
Veterinary Medicine International
Background. The production of milk and dairy products and their placement on the market represent... more Background. The production of milk and dairy products and their placement on the market represent a constant profit for the farmers/producers in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH). The profitable operation of the dairy farms is influenced by the reproductive performance of the lactating animals. This study assessed individual animal reproductive characteristics in selected dairy farms and described their reproductive performance indicators. Results. The median age at first insemination was 493 days (5th–95th percentile range 429–840), while the age at first calving was 802 days (5th–95th percentile range 708–1168). The median pregnancy proportion at first insemination was 40% (5th–95th percentile range 17–62), while the cumulative pregnancy rate calculated at day-60, day-80, day-100, and day-120 showed that approximately 64% of all pregnancies happened before day-120. The calculated interservice intervals showed that approximately 69% of the repeat breeding animals came back to the oestrus...
PLOS ONE
Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is a zoonotic pathogen which may cause tick-borne encephalit... more Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is a zoonotic pathogen which may cause tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) in humans and animals. More than 10,000 cases of TBE are reported annually in Europe and Asia. However, the knowledge on TBE in animals is limited. Coinfection with Anaplasma phagocytophilum and louping ill virus (LIV), a close relative to TBEV, in sheep has been found to cause more severe disease than single LIV or A. phagocytophilum infection. The aim of this study was to investigate TBEV infection and co-infection of TBEV and A. phagocytophilum in lambs. A total of 30 lambs, aged five to six months, were used. The experiment was divided into two. In part one, pre-and post-infection of TBEV and A. phagocytophilum was investigated (group 1 to 4), while in part two, co-infection of TBEV and A. phagocytophilum was investigated (group 5 and 6). Blood samples were drawn, and rectal temperature was measured daily. Lambs inoculated with TBEV displayed no clinical symptoms, but had a short or non-detectable viremia by reverse transcription real-time PCR. All lambs inoculated with TBEV developed neutralizing TBEV antibodies. Our study is in accordance with previous studies, and indicates that TBEV rarely causes symptomatic disease in ruminants. All lambs inoculated with A. phagocytophilum developed fever and clinical symptoms of tick-borne fever, and A. phagocytophilum was present in the blood samples of all infected lambs, shown by qPCR. Significantly higher mean TBEV titer was detected in the group co-infected with TBEV and A. phagocytophilum, compared to the groups pre-or post-infected with A. phagocytophilum. These results indicate that co-infection with TBEV and A. phagocytophilum in sheep stimulates an increased TBEV antibody response.
Zoonoses and Public Health
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which... more This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology
Anaplasma phagocytophilum is a tick borne bacterium, causing disease in sheep and other mammals, ... more Anaplasma phagocytophilum is a tick borne bacterium, causing disease in sheep and other mammals, including humans. The bacterium has great economic and animal welfare implications for sheep husbandry in Northern Europe. With the prospect of a warmer and more humid climate, the vector availability will likely increase, resulting in a higher prevalence of A. phagocytophilum. The current preventive measures, as pyrethroids acting on ticks or long acting antibiotics controlling bacterial infection, are suboptimal for prevention of the disease in sheep. Recently, the increased awareness on antibiotic-and pyrethorid resistance, is driving the search for a new prophylactic approach in sheep against A. phagocytophilum. Previous studies have used an attenuated vaccine, which gave insufficient protection from challenge with live bacteria. Other studies have focused on bacterial membrane surface proteins like Asp14 and OmpA. An animal study using homologous proteins to Asp14 and OmpA of A. marginale, showed no protective effect in heifers. In the current study, recombinant proteins of Asp14 (rAsp14) and OmpA (rOmpA) of A. phagocytophilum were produced and prepared as a vaccine for sheep. Ten lambs were vaccinated twice with an adjuvant emulsified with rAsp14 or rOmpA, three weeks apart and challenged with a live strain of A. phagocytophilum (GenBank acc.nr M73220) on day 42. The control group consisted of five lambs injected twice with PBS and adjuvant. Hematology, real time qPCR, immunodiagnostics and flow cytometric analyses of peripheral blood mononuclear cells were performed. Vaccinated lambs responded with clinical signs of A.phagocytophilum infection after challenge and bacterial load in the vaccinated group was not reduced compared to the control group. rAsp14 vaccinated lambs generated an antibody response against the vaccine, but a clear specificity for rAsp14 could not be established. rOmpA-vaccinated lambs developed a strong specific antibody response on days 28 after vaccination and 14 days post-challenge. Immunofluorescent staining and flow cytometric analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear monocytes revealed no difference between the three groups, but the percentage of CD4 + , CD8 + , γδ TcR + , λ-Light chain + , CD11b + , CD14 + and MHC II + cells, within the groups changed during the study, most likely due to the adjuvant or challenge with the bacterium. Although an antigen specific antibody response could be detected against rOmpA and possibly rAsp14, the vaccines seemed to be ineffective in reducing clinical signs and bacterial load caused by A. phagocytophilum. This is the first animal study with recombinant Asp14 and OmpA aimed at obtaining clinical protection against A. phagocytophilum in sheep.
Animals
Catching is the first step in the pre-slaughter chain for broiler chickens. The process may be de... more Catching is the first step in the pre-slaughter chain for broiler chickens. The process may be detrimental for animal welfare due to the associated handling. The aim of this pilot study was to compare two different methods to manually catch broilers: Catching the broilers by two legs and carrying them inverted (LEGS) or catching the broilers under the abdomen and carrying them in an upright position (UPRIGHT). Wing and leg fractures upon arrival at the abattoir, animal density in the drawers, birds on their back, broilers dead-on-arrival and time to fill the transport modules were investigated. The results showed that mean crating time was shorter in the UPRIGHT method (p = 0.007). There was a tendency for more wing fractures in broilers caught by the LEGS (p = 0.06). The animal density in the drawers was lower and with a smaller range in the UPRIGHT method (p = 0.022). The results indicate that catching the broilers under the abdomen in an upright position may improve broiler welfa...
Poultry Science
In poultry flocks, flock weight uniformity is often defined as the percent individuals within 10%... more In poultry flocks, flock weight uniformity is often defined as the percent individuals within 10% of the mean body weight (BW) and the variability of this uniformity can be expressed as the CV of BW. Flock weight uniformity is a standardized and objective measured, and could potentially be used as a welfare indicator; however, little is known about the relationship between flock uniformity and other production measures on-farm or at slaughter. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between carcass weight uniformity (CV of BW) and production measures on-farm and at slaughter in Norwegian commercial broiler flocks. A total of 45 randomly selected mixed-sex Ross 308 broiler flocks were visited prior to slaughter at 28 to 30 D of age (average slaughter age 30.6 D). All flocks were raised under similar farm management systems. The Welfare Quality protocol for broilers was used to assess different animal welfare indicators in each flock. All production data from the sla...
The objective of this study was to investigate causal associations between cattle farms’ manageme... more The objective of this study was to investigate causal associations between cattle farms’ management practices and reproductive disorders (abortion, stillbirth, retention of placenta, metritis). Besides, direct causal associations between farms’ management and reproductive infections (Chlamydia abortus, Coxiella burnetii, and Neospora caninum), reproductive disorders and infections were also investigated in this study. As a secondary objective, constraints that affect the production in cattle farms were examined. The study was carried out in the north-western (Una-Sana), western (Canton 10) and central part (Central Bosnia Canton) of Bosnia and Herzegovina. A total of 201 farms were selected for participation. A semi-structured questionnaire-based interview was conducted among farmers/managers from January 1st to August 31st, 2015. The 40 questions were divided into three groups: socio-demographic, management, and information on reproductive performances in cattle. Supplementary ques...
Zoonoses and Public Health
Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is the causative agent of tickborne encephalitis (TBE) in hu... more Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is the causative agent of tickborne encephalitis (TBE) in humans, and it is the most important zoonotic tick-transmitted virus in Europe from a medical perspective (Suss, 2011). TBEV is a positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus in the Flaviviridae family, within the Flavivirus genus. TBEV is occasionally transmitted to humans through bites from TBEV-infected Ixodes ricinus or Ixodes persulcatus ticks, which are recognized as both vectors and reservoirs (Lindquist & Vapalahti, 2008). TBEV infection in humans often results in unspecific transient febrile symptoms, but the clinical outcome ranges from asymptomatic to severe infection
Applied Animal Behaviour Science
Qualitative behavioural assessments (QBA) is an animal-based welfare measure that has been includ... more Qualitative behavioural assessments (QBA) is an animal-based welfare measure that has been included in several on-farm welfare assessment protocols, including the Welfare Quality® (WQ) protocol for poultry. However, there is a scarcity of information about how it relates to other animal-based welfare indicators. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate the associations between QBA and selected animalbased welfare indicators commonly used for the assessment of broiler chicken welfare, i.e. lameness, foot pad dermatitis (FPD), fear of humans (touch test), and mortality. A total of 50 commercial broiler chicken farms were visited by one observer who conducted on-farm welfare assessments using the WQ protocol. Assessments were done close to the time of slaughter (between day 27 and 34). QBA was analysed using principal component analysis (PCA), revealing two main components, labelled arousal (PC1) and mood (PC2). The scores for the other welfare indicators were categorised into dichotomous (touch test) or ordinal scales (gait score, footpad dermatitis score and mortality) to deal with skewed distributions caused by homogenous data. To investigate the associations between QBA and the other welfare indicators, we ran logistic and ordinal logistic regression models with these welfare measures as outcomes, and the two components of QBA as the predictors. Significant negative associations were found between both components of QBA and the chickens' fear of humans, as measured using the touch test. In other words, flocks with higher scores on both mood and arousal were less likely to have any chickens that were possible to touch by the assessor. A possible interpretation of these associations is that both QBA components may indicate greater liveliness in birds that did not accept to be touched by the observer. Flocks with a higher arousal score, as measured by the first component of QBA (PC1), were also less likely to be in a higher mortality category. For the other selected animal-based measures, there were no associations with QBA. We conclude that QBA needs thorough validation for the routine use in the assessment of broiler chicken welfare, but that the method may provide useful supplementary information in overall welfare assessments. This information may be particularly valuable in a production system, like the broiler industry, where management is highly standardised, sometimes resulting in little between-flock variation in other welfare measures.
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Papers by Erik G E O R G Bø-Granquist